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• root-and-branch
  root-and-branch

  adjective

  on a large scale or without discrimination; wholesale
• root and branch
  root and branch

  Utterly, completely, as in The company has been transformed root and branch by the new management. Alluding to both the underground and aboveground parts of a tree, this idiom was first recorded in 1640.

root-and-branch

British  

adjective

1. on a large scale or without discrimination; wholesale

   root-and-branch reforms

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adverb

1. entirely; completely; utterly

   Brazil needs reform root and branch

root and branch Idioms  

1. Utterly, completely, as in The company has been transformed root and branch by the new management. Alluding to both the underground and aboveground parts of a tree, this idiom was first recorded in 1640.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

root-and-branch root and branch

The author ties his root-and-branch critique of capitalism to a plea to “make modern life much more affordable than it is at present,” which he hopes will open more opportunities for enlightened leisure.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026

The US Department of Justice had indicted a large number of top executives and it needed root-and-branch reform.

From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2026

And because of its hallowed status as a national treasure, any efforts at root-and-branch change quickly run up against political resistance.

From New York Times ● Jul. 16, 2023

But the Tribunal ruled on Monday that Lovdahl Gormsen's methodology of establishing any losses suffered by Facebook users needed "root-and-branch re-evaluation" for the case to continue.

From Reuters ● Feb. 20, 2023

In all things he and they were liberals, and, as was natural at this stage, democrats; contemplating root-and-branch innovation by aid of the hustings and ballot-box.

From Life of John Sterling by Thomas Carlyle

When any side embarks on the sort of root and branch revolution the Italian presided over this summer, it is inevitable there will be teething problems and time required for understandings and relationships to form.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

A House of Lords report released in October found that serious waste crime was being "critically under-prioritised" and ordered a "root and branch" inquiry into how "endemic" waste crime was being tackled.

From BBC ● Dec. 24, 2025

He believes the regulatory system needs a "root and branch review".

From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2025

Not at his attempts to wreak personal vengeance, reconstitute Washington root and branch, or engineer a lasting partisan realignment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 1, 2024

But the Specters had found their target, too, and they pressed in through the snagging tangle of bush and briar and root and branch, meeting no more resistance than smoke.

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman